Full Suit Skin vs Shorty

[RobPNW]

Looking to pick up a holiday deal on a warm water suit. I'm a pretty warm guy and tend to prefer shorty wetsuits. But I'm thinking a full suit 1mm may be similar in thermal comfort to a 2.5mm shorty. It may be thinner but there's more coverage. I also never fall into the size charts well because I have a pretty broad chest and shoulder area. So if I get a shorty that fits my waist and legs, I need the jaws of life to get it off my upper body. And if I get one that fits my upper body, I either have a bag of water around my waist or get water intrusion on my thighs. So I'm wondering if the thinner neoprene of the full suit 1mm may let me get something that fits my waist and legs but is also stretchy enough for my upper body. Any thoughts?

 

[Marie13]

Have you thought about something like Lavacore or similar that has the option of separate tops and bottoms so you get a better fit?

 

[broncobowsher]

I have turned into a full suit person. Did a Bahama's week in a shorty. Comfort level was fine. But there were a few dives where I got bounced off a few sharp things that left some scrapes down my legs. I have come to let the neoprene take the sacrifice instead of my own flesh.

As for fitting a suit. I know there are a lot of new super stretchy materials out, don't know if anything has made it down to the thin stuff. Also you can get custom made.

 

[drrich2]

I wear a 3-mm Henderson Thermoprene front-zip shorty. The zipper runs diagonally from the neck down to open one leg, so it's easy in and out (not like popping the top and creating an effect like putting on a sock). I can't zip my 5-mm full wetsuit because it's a back zip, and I can't get it up further than below my shoulders. I do some solo diving with no one else around, so that's a problem.

But I've gotten scraped up in Bonaire, as silt the color of the bottom can hide rocky projections. And be mindful even thin protection may protect well against jellyfish stings, and Caribbean 'sea wasp' jellyfish can be drawn to lights at night (particularly a set time frame after a full moon in Bonaire, I'm told). A shorty leaves more exposed.

To protect me from the tropical sun and avoid having the plaster as much of myself with sunscreen, I've worn a lycra skin full suit in addition to my shorty before, but it's so thin I still got abrasions from running into things.

A very stretchy 3-mm (to provide adequate abrasion protection) full wetsuit with a similar front zipper (to make getting it on and off alone easy) would be the bomb!

 

[RobPNW]

Luckily, I've never bumped anything or hit a jellyfish but I can definitely appreciate the value a full suit brings for that. I was also thinking about the scenario of a warm water wreck dive. Do you folks think a 1mm full suit would be about as warm as a 3mm shorty?

 

[RobPNW]

Or maybe a 3/2 with super stretch neoprene...

 

[RobPNW]

Or maybe a 3/2 with super stretch neoprene...

I was contemplating this option because with the stretch in the upper body, I assume it would effectively be more like a 2mm suit thermally.

 

[drrich2]

Do you folks think a 1mm full suit would be about as warm as a 3mm shorty?

I don't know, but the increased coverage should help. And you'd get a lot more jelly fish resistance (I got nailed by Caribbean sea wasps going in at the Buddy Dive Resort pier one night, and it hurt!).

But I'm not sure how much abrasion protection it'd give you.

Oh, another time I wished I had such protection was on an off-shore wreck dive out of North Carolina. A popular wreck, the Aeolus, has a 'shark room,' where you get negative and rest on your knees hoping circling sand tiger sharks come close. I found the bottom abrasive and uncomfortable for my knees in my shorty. I keep wondering how goofy I'd look in a shorty and adding knee pads?

 

[RobPNW]

Marie,​

I've thought about that. With a 3mm shorty and a rental BC, I needed 9lbs of weight. With the neutrally buoyant suit and a SS BP/W I'd probably be neutral or slightly negative. Might be an option.

 

[Marie13]

Marie,​

I've thought about that. With a 3mm shorty and a rental BC, I needed 9lbs of weight. With the neutrally buoyant suit and a SS BP/W I'd probably be neutral or slightly negative. Might be an option.

Fourth Element Thermocline is one to look at.

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